in a post-pandemic world will credentialism continue to consume the thoughts and dreams of so many umc families?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully "revamp AAP" doesn't mean lower AAP standards. There are already kids struggling in AAP who have parents that probably pushed to get them in. The goal should not be to make it general Ed. Please no.

I am not the "revamp AAP" person, but I don't think that's what it means. AAP admissions are pretty unique at this point in terms of how other districts think about gifted education. So, when I hear "revamp AAP," I think about getting rid of teacher input (an element that many districts are getting rid of due to cultural bias) and ending the practice of accepting private IQ tests as part of the appeals process.

Similarly, I would suggest a renewed and expanded program of identifying under-represented groups for an accelerate math track by middle school, even if it means busing them to a nearby school. It's absolute nonsense that the TJ admissions test would include material that is offered *in school* in some parts of the attendance zone but not in others.

I think these are great ideas. I don't agree with having the private Wisc. test scores accepted. I think they should do away with accepting Wisc. scores or pay for the test for all kids. SOmeone on here said that you couldnt get rid of wisc though because 2E kids would sue for not being included (or something like that).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's keep the number 1 school in the country.

Let’s lose that silly mindset. Any number of jurisdictions would have a higher ranked school than TJ if they put all their eggs in one basket.

Oh really - which jurisdictions?

Anonymous wrote:Let's keep the number 1 school in the country.

Let’s lose that silly mindset. Any number of jurisdictions would have a higher ranked school than TJ if they put all their eggs in one basket.

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully "revamp AAP" doesn't mean lower AAP standards. There are already kids struggling in AAP who have parents that probably pushed to get them in. The goal should not be to make it general Ed. Please no.

I am not the "revamp AAP" person, but I don't think that's what it means. AAP admissions are pretty unique at this point in terms of how other districts think about gifted education. So, when I hear "revamp AAP," I think about getting rid of teacher input (an element that many districts are getting rid of due to cultural bias) and ending the practice of accepting private IQ tests as part of the appeals process.

Similarly, I would suggest a renewed and expanded program of identifying under-represented groups for an accelerate math track by middle school, even if it means busing them to a nearby school. It's absolute nonsense that the TJ admissions test would include material that is offered *in school* in some parts of the attendance zone but not in others.

Let's keep the number 1 school in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine all this is over admissions to UVA. Its a good school, but students attending TJ should be aiming higher than UVA. Kids from far "lesser" schools in northern VA can get into UVA.

If you are interested in STEM I would assume you are applying elsewhere.

Yes, if you are really interested in STEM, that isn't UVA's strength.

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine all this is over admissions to UVA. Its a good school, but students attending TJ should be aiming higher than UVA. Kids from far "lesser" schools in northern VA can get into UVA.

Over time, fewer and fewer have been going to UVA. More have been going out of state.

Get rid of TJ - not worth all the tsuris. Kids can suck it up and go their assigned schools.

Hopefully "revamp AAP" doesn't mean lower AAP standards. There are already kids struggling in AAP who have parents that probably pushed to get them in. The goal should not be to make it general Ed. Please no.

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine all this is over admissions to UVA. Its a good school, but students attending TJ should be aiming higher than UVA. Kids from far "lesser" schools in northern VA can get into UVA.

If you are interested in STEM I would assume you are applying elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of TJ and raise the standards at the neighborhood schools, and the hyper-focus on who is attending one magnet school goes away.

Look at every other school district in the country. They universally try to raise standards. Yet all this inequity remains. The problem isn't TJ. It's largely differentials in parenting. Of course, this will never be addressed until the citizenry takes individual responsibility and stops thinking government can actually solve these problems.

Get rid of TJ and raise the standards at the neighborhood schools, and the hyper-focus on who is attending one magnet school goes away.

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that some cultures (not just Asian) ride their kids hard on education from a very young age. Other cultures don't or can't due to economic hardships, lack of resources, or frankly parents not having the education/knowledge themselves to support higher achievement.

None of this means that standards at TJ should be lowered. Instead all children should be given resources to achieve at a higher level. But ultimately parents need to be more involved. There is no way around that.

Yes, starting from elementary schools - Revamp AAP.

The bottom line is that some cultures (not just Asian) ride their kids hard on education from a very young age. Other cultures don't or can't due to economic hardships, lack of resources, or frankly parents not having the education/knowledge themselves to support higher achievement.

None of this means that standards at TJ should be lowered. Instead all children should be given resources to achieve at a higher level. But ultimately parents need to be more involved. There is no way around that.